Polarsirkelen-the Arctic Circle Posted by kari on Feb 8, 2011
My best friend and I stopped here on our road trip from his family’s hometown in southern Troms Fylke (county) all the way down to where we lived in Oslo. It was an absolutely incredible road trip. I have posted pictures on Facebook of the trip, so you can see more pictures there. The coolest…
Root vegetables in Norwegian Cuisine Posted by kari on Feb 6, 2011
Glazed Leg of Lamb with Roasted Root Vegetables Root vegetables are important ingredients in Scandinavian cuisine. In this dish the lamb meat is accompanied by a plethora of root vegetables – scented with mustard, rosemary and garlic—New Scandinavian Cooking So I went to ´The Inn´last night with my family. I had heard it was…
Tattoos & Norway Posted by kari on Feb 2, 2011
When you think about fashion in Norway, do you kind of group it in with “the rest of Europe” in terms and styles and trends? I typically do. The only fashion stereotypes that I have heard before about Europe are that there are a lot of gothic dressers in Germany and in the Netherlands…
Ice Harvesting in Norway Posted by kari on Jan 31, 2011
On any given day between November and March (give or take a bit), I can have a chunk of ice in my hand within 1 minute. If I wanted to, I could refrigerate and freeze all of my perishable items right outside of my door. Because it’s 2011 in the developed world, during the…
Ski Resorts in Norway Posted by kari on Jan 26, 2011
Oh, how I long for mountains sometimes. I grew up on the prairie, but I feel totally at home in the mountains as well. Before a couple of years ago, I had never skiied in the mountains. I had hiked mountains, but the only skiing I had done was in Minnesota, either at Welch Village…
Soldagen-´Sun-day´in Norway marks the end of Mørketid Posted by kari on Jan 25, 2011
It is now søndag, the 23rd of januar. Just 3 days ago, northern Norway celebrated Soldagen, the end of mørketid, or the dark time in the north. It´s sounds strange when you first hear it, doesn´t it? When you think about not seeing the sun for 2 months out of the year, you quickly understand…
Ostehøvel-a Norwegian invented the cheese slicer Posted by kari on Jan 21, 2011
Sure, the French are known for their oster (cheeses), but a Norwegian invented osthøvelen (the cheese slicer). Although some sorts of ostehøvler have been around in Europe for ages, it was not until 1925 that Thor Bjørklund, a Norwegian carpenter from Lillehammer, patented osthøvelen. Do you wonder why this carpenter invented something to slice cheese…